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Business / The South African Entrepreneur Who Sold His Startup For $50m In Silicon Valley by enterprise54: 12:24pm On Sep 20, 2014

A South African entrepreneur who has just made megabucks in a US deal has jetted back to South Africa to film the local version of the UK hit reality-TV show Dragon’s Den.

Two weeks ago, Vinny Lingham, 35, who grew up in East London but now lives in San Francisco, sold his mobile wallet app, Gyft, to US tech company First Data for between $50m and $100m (about R1bn).

With this track record, it is not surprising that Mr Lingham has been asked to appear on the show in which successful businessmen spend their own money buying into the business plans of would-be entrepreneurs.

And it is clear that Mr Lingham has come a long way from the small kid who was, in his own words, “beaten up all the time”.

“I think if you do things that you love, money is not actually important. I happen to be lucky because the things I do now are in vogue and I can make a lot of money out of them, whereas 20 years ago I was seen as a little geeky nerd in East London whom everyone picked on because I was a computer geek.”

It may seem easy for Mr Lingham to say all this now, but his road to riches was not an easy one.

As a schoolboy, he loved computers, but he could not get into computer science because his maths marks were so poor. (“I just didn’t take school that seriously,” he said.)

He considered ditching computers because, ironically, there was “no money in it” and pursuing law. He watched a lot of the TV series LA Law at the time, but “my dad said ‘no ways, follow your dream’. That was good advice.”

So he enrolled at the University of Cape Town, where he excelled in information systems. But the cash ran out in his third year and Mr Lingham had to drop out. He went back home to figure out what to do — and the answer was to build three tech businesses, each one more successful than the last.

First was autofinance.co.za, which allowed customers to apply for vehicle finance from the big four banks.

He sold that business to Johnnic eVentures — a division of what is now Times Media — and moved to Johannesburg to help to transition the business. But Johnnic eVentures closed down when the technology market crashed in 2000, leaving Lingham unemployed.

Click link to continue reading Lingham's journey http://enterprise54.com/the-south-african-entrepreneur-who-just-sold-his-startup-for-50m-in-silicon-valley/
Business / 5 Ways To Stay Motivated As An Entrepreneur by enterprise54: 11:53am On Sep 20, 2014


As an entrepreneur, one makes goals that he/she would like to achieve in a certain period. It could be that you want to earn Kshs. 500,000 a month of passive income in five years or that you would like to own land and build a mansion in a certain area in Kenya.
[img]http://kenyanladytrep.files./2014/08/mansion-in-kenya.jpg?w=300&h=168[/img]

Whatever your goal is, it requires certain steps and activities in order to be achieved. These goals that people make are the main reason why most become entrepreneurs. However, the journey of being an entrepreneur is not an easy one and sometimes one faces challenges that pull you down; financially and emotionally. This can make one de-motivated and that could spell trouble for any entrepreneur and his/her business ventures. If one is de-motivated, he/she does not work hard to achieve the goals set and it leads to failure. The obvious thing would be to ensure that you stay motivated, especially when dealing with tough challenges. There are many ways of staying motivated; here are five effective ways that I have found to keep me motivated as an entrepreneur, while going through the various challenges that I face.

1. Reminding yourself why you decided to become an entrepreneur

Whether you are running a business as a lawyer, baker, writer, photographer or any other industry you may be in; you are bound to face challenges in your daily grind.

Click link to continue reading http://enterprise54.com/5-ways-to-stay-motivated-as-an-entrepreneur/
Business / 7 Reasons Startups Fail Within The First Year by enterprise54: 4:36pm On Sep 19, 2014
[img]http://kenyanladytrep.files./2014/09/business-closed-sign.jpg?w=440[/img]

We hear many statistics about small businesses often, especially about their failure rate within the first three years. Those statistics have become very personal to me due to the fact that my small business struggled a lot last year and almost closed. I have also encountered at least three young entrepreneurs that I know, who have closed their businesses over the last year – and their businesses were less than a year old. Through personal experience and the experience of those around me; that statistic becomes very personal.

Today I want to focus on seven main reasons why small businesses fail within the first year. I believe that knowing the reason why, will help small business owners avoid most of these pitfalls and keep their small businesses going, and it time, successful.

Click link to continue reading http://enterprise54.com/7-reasons-startups-fail-within-the-first-year/
Business / Tony Elumelu Donates Cash To Kofi Annan, Olusegun Obasanjo And Others Foundation by enterprise54: 10:50am On Sep 16, 2014

ENTERPRISE54 – Four foundations of prominent African leaders have been awarded grants by the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) to support their work in identifying and developing the next generation of African leaders.

The recipient foundations are the Kofi Annan Foundation, the John A. Kufuor Foundation, the Olusegun Obasanjo Foundation and the Thabo Mbeki Foundation. They all share a dedication to the development of Africa through a focus on the continent’s young people, an approach that resonates with the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s own emphasis on entrepreneurship as the key catalyst for Africa’s economic transformation.

According to Dr. Wiebe Boer, CEO of the Tony Elumelu Foundation: “There is a critical need in Africa for leadership development and this is a great opportunity for us to support the work of exemplary African political leaders to equip the next generation, so their experience becomes a benefit to us all.” Through the African Leaders Grant, each organisation will utilise the funds to support initiatives associated with the entrepreneurship and leadership development pillar of the Tony Elumelu Foundation.
“The Tony Elumelu Foundation has previously partnered with the Olusegun Obasanjo Foundation to support our work in youth employment in Africa. It is a personal passion Tony and I share and something that this grant will allow us to continue doing. This collaboration to equip the next generation is an example that I hope others will follow. Africa will be better off for it,” commented President Obasanjo on the grant.

Click link to read more on this http://enterprise54.com/tony-elumelu-donates-cash-to-kofi-annan-olusegun-obasanjo-john-kufuor-thabo-mbeki-foundations/
Business / Nigerian Entrepreneurs Can Source Funds On This Site by enterprise54: 5:44pm On Sep 13, 2014


ENTERPRISE54 – The biggest challenge for the average entrepreneur in Africa is accessing finance to fund their startups. The banks hardly give budding entrepreneurs loans, raising money from family and friends can be a nightmare. The frustration has led many entrepreneurs to throw in the towel.

The next option is usually to save from their earnings. However, in most cases unforeseen circumstances can wipe out these savings leading to an abandonment of their startup dreams. Few entrepreneurs have actually heard of crowdfunding, and the opportunities it provides for the entrepreneur.

Crowd funding is a collaborative process of financial support from a large group of individuals, usually via the internet, to fund a business, project or idea. Crowd funding is an effective alternative method of raising finance for people with creative projects to fund their goals. It involves soliciting and collecting relatively small amounts of money from a large number of people. With 60 million internet users in Nigeria, many already making financial transactions online (Interswitch, Paypal, Paga), this is a very large number of people a budding entrepreneur can reach through crowd funding.

In Nigeria, crowdfunding has not been fully embraced compared to the US where $1.5 billion was raised in 2011 via crowd funding. Major players in crowd funding include sites like kickstarter.com, indiegogo.com and rockethub.com.

Click link to find out where to source funds online http://enterprise54.com/nigerian-entrepreneurs-can-source-funds-on-this-site/
Business / Entrepreneurial Lessons From The English Premier League by enterprise54: 5:33pm On Sep 13, 2014

ENTERPRISE54 – The opening day of the English Premier League season started on a somewhat average note for fans across the world. However, the most entertaining and glamorous league in the world keeps evolving each year with conceptual brilliance and an absolute appreciation for the future in today’s world. The tagline in a TV commercial for Toyota in the early 2000s simply captures the forward thinking in this global franchise: Good Thinking. Good Product! That’s just the essence that should never be substituted on the altar of absurdity and mediocrity, if at all an idea will stand the test of time.

The English Premier League, which was birthed in 1992, can aptly be described as an enterprise. Like many institutions in domestic markets with tremendous global impact, the Barclays’ title-sponsored league has the properties that make this venture the ideal enterprise for a buy-in in sporting as well as in business terms. As a customer – of course, a fan, rights sponsor, investor, media partner, travel agency, and more – you can never get enough of the ingenuity the English Premier League offers. Some aspects of the luminosity of this football franchise have been highlighted as significant to the ever growing success of the EPL.

Competition is a Healthy Bait

The ability to evolve and adapt per time far outweighs the need to simply have a product or service to offer the world. Recent data suggests how competition from the Bundesliga as well as the La Liga, are making strong gains on the English Premier League.

Deloitte’s Annual Review of Football Finance 2014 shows growth in revenue for these top three leagues in the 2012/2013 season with the EPL in the lead at a value of €2.9 billion while the German and Spanish leagues are not far behind with €2.0 billion and €1.9 billion respectively.

The BIG 5 leagues and their respective clubs have signed (and keep signing) innovative and commercial-driven partnerships with countless companies and media bodies. Two prime objectives for such innovative deals include: increased global awareness of league/club; and increased financial base. An innovative drive associated with the English Premier League which readily comes to mind is BT Sports’ value-added offering to subscribers of their decoder.

A subscriber enjoys the benefit of free broadband internet on subscribing for the product while enjoying sports content. Their subscriber base of the pay-TV platform grew from 2 million October 2013 with an additional 500,000 by January 2014 taking it to 2.5 million. The premier league earned over £500 million from a 3-year deal with BT Sport in financial return. In all to keep the customers (the final consumer, being fans) satisfied.

Entrepreneurs must evolve their business offerings with novelty. With creativity and innovation, success and growth can be guaranteed.

Decisions…and NOT Luck!

Click link to read other points in the article http://enterprise54.com/entrepreneurial-lessons-from-the-english-premier-league/
Business / Ebola Outbreak – Hand Sanitizer Search On Kaymu.com Surges By 130% by enterprise54: 4:57pm On Sep 13, 2014

ENTERPRISE54 – Just a few weeks after the first case of the deadly Ebola epidemic was reported in Lagos, Rocket Internet-backed online shopping company Kaymu.com.ng has announced a surge in purchase of sanitary supplies by Lagosians.

Following the demise of Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian born American who arrived at the Murtala Mohammed Airport Lagos on July 20 and died five days later, the awareness about the fatal virus has spread like wild fire.

This can be accredited to the prompt actions taken by the Lagos state government to inform Lagosians about the severity of the virus and the continuous coverage of the situation by local and foreign media.

According to a statement released by Kaymu, online search for hand sanitizer on the platform has increased by 130% in the past week and sales of hand washes and lotions have increased significantly.

Managing Director of Kaymu Nigeria, Evangeline Wiles, stated, “It is very encouraging to see that Lagosians are taking the news of this outbreak seriously. Lagosians and Nigerians in general are advised to take to the precautionary measures communicated by health officials, such as frequently washing hands, to ensure the virus is contained and possibly eradicated.”

Click link to continue http://enterprise54.com/ebola-virus-hand-sanitizer-search-on-kaymu-com-surges-by-130/
Business / Why Young Entrepreneurs Fail In Business by enterprise54: 4:21pm On Sep 13, 2014

ENTERPRISE54 – While entrepreneurship presents massive opportunities to curb youth unemployment, many young entrepreneurs are ill-prepared for the realities of doing business. This is according to expert speakers set to hold entrepreneurial workshops at the upcoming Business Opportunities and Franchise (BOFE) expo, to be presented in partnership with Eskom at the Coca Cola Dome in Northgate, South Africa, next week.

Experts in the field of business development say Generation Y’s aspiring entrepreneurs have been raised in an environment where things move quickly and gratification is instant. Therefore, many of them lack the endurance to stay in business when the going gets tough.

Success doesn’t happen overnight

Young entrepreneurs are handicapped in that they ‘don’t have the patience gene’, says Tshepo Phakathi, Group CEO of Phakathi Holdings, whose KAELLO initiative promotes entrepreneurship and mentors thousands of young aspirant entrepreneurs.

Phakathi says times have changed: where business once took around 20 years to achieve substantial success, technology now makes it possible to penetrate markets faster. However, it still takes years to achieve success, a fact that escapes too many young entrepreneurs. “Too many young entrepreneurs want it all yesterday. They see successful business people, and don’t realise what they are seeing is just the end result of years of sweat and tears. So when they launch a business and they have not achieved the expected levels of success in a year or two, they give up, or they launch a new business in a different sector.”

Click the link to read the points http://enterprise54.com/phakathi-group-ceo-others-explain-why-young-entrepreneurs-fail-in-business/
Business / Cchub Releases Mobile Intelligence Infographic, Slightly Flawed by enterprise54: 6:19pm On Sep 12, 2014

ENTERPRISE54 – The Mobile Experience Centre of Nigeria’s first open living lab and pre-incubation space CcHub has released a 2nd edition of the “How I Use my Phone” series, a research aimed at gathering market research intelligence around mobile behavior in Nigeria.

The aim of the series is to provide open access to information that will prove useful to the general public; albeit for different purposes such as knowledge acquisition, research, projects, product development etc.

This second installment, a sequel to the first which studied mobile usage patterns among market traders, is targeted at Nigerian working professionals.

The survey samples 1552 participants across several sectors of the economy and management levels from entry to senior management. 58.3% of the sampled population is dominated by male professionals. An interesting point to note is that the largest share of the population, 39.3% use their mobile phones, most, to browse over 36.1% who said they use theirs for making calls mostly.

A far-leading 31% also named Whats app as their most used mobile application. BBM followed with 20.9% with Facebook trailing behind with 15.7%. South African telecoms giant didn’t falter. MTN accounted for over a third of the population’s mobile network providing service to 38.5% of the professionals. Etisalat followed with 25.1% while Airtel and Glo trailed with 23.3% and 13.2% respectively.

A major flaw of the infographic (or research) is the negligence of participants’ income revenue. The purchasing power of these 1552 professionals is definitely a pivotal determinant of their mobile phone preference and behavior and without studying this financial factor it is impossible for Mxlab to achieve its noble objective of producing a balanced market intelligence businesses or organizations can rely on to build operations.

For example, How I Use my Phone infographic claims 56.1% of Nigerian professionals own a mobile phone, 37.9% own two, 5.3% own three and 0.6% own four. The only way the imports of this information should be taken seriously is if the questioned group share a common income range. Otherwise, it is heavily skewed. It doesn’t show, for example, if 56.1% of the sampled senior management execs who earn enough to own four phones, actually keep to owning just one.

Click link to continue reading http://enterprise54.com/cchub-releases-mobile-intelligence-infographic-slightly-flawed/
Business / Why Don Jazzy Wants To Mentor Entrepreneurs by enterprise54: 5:14pm On Sep 12, 2014


ENTERPRISE54 – Michael Ajereh, widely known as Don Jazzy, needs no introduction. The award winning Nigerian hit music producer has partnered with 440.ng to become a mentor for the maiden edition of its accelerator program in Lagos, Nigeria.

Don Jazzy will be joining other 440.ng mentors, including top entrepreneurs and business executives, to provide guidance and practical advice to startups that will be receiving between $20,000 and $110,000 during the 440.ng accelerator program starting in September.

Why Don Jazzy?

He has shown that even in a harsh operating environment like Nigeria, it is possible to build and run a successful business. Within three years of co-founding Mo Hits Records alongside ONE ambassador Dapo Oyebanji a.k.a D’Banj, it became the most successful record label in Nigeria, with chart-topping artistes such as D’banj, Wande Coal, Dr. Sid and others.

Despite the outstanding success of Mo Hits Records, Don Jazzy and his co-founder fell out and eventually shut down the business. Nevertheless, Don Jazzy, an exceptional talent spotter, moved on to start another successful business, Mavin Records, which has best-selling artistes such as Tiwa Savage, Dr. Sid, D’Prince and others.

Click link to continue reading http://enterprise54.com/why-don-jazzy-wants-to-mentor-entrepreneurs/
Business / 5 Signs Entrepreneurship Is Not For You by enterprise54: 4:45pm On Sep 12, 2014

ENTERPRISE54 – These days, everyone wants to be an entrepreneur or better still called an ‘entrepreneur’, but there is more to entrepreneurship than what we think we know about it. This post is to communicate that entrepreneurship is not for everyone.

Paid Employment is no longer enough to depend on in present day Nigeria. Many people are seeking ways of diversifying income, seeking alternative or multiple streams of income. Many are turning to entrepreneurship and small businesses for this reason. Some youths are even considering dropping out of school to pursue entrepreneurship dreams. However, with the volume of data available about small business or startup failures, it is important to determine if starting a small business is the best way for you.

This article seeks to identify 5 key pointers that will help the reader, determine if entrepreneurship is really their forte.

1. You Are an Habitual Latecomer

If you are an habitual latecomer in your present job, entrepreneurship isn’t for you. The reason is not far fetched. Entrepreneurship requires efficient time management, consistency and punctuality. These are skills and attitudes you need to develop while on a paid job. If you are late to a paid job, you’ll be late in your business. When you are late to close a deal, you begin to lose respect and client base keeps reducing. When that happens, you won’t be in business for too long.

Click link to continue reading http://enterprise54.com/5-signs-entrepreneurship-is-not-for-you/
Business / How To Access Loans Without Collateral by enterprise54: 4:15pm On Sep 12, 2014

ENTERPRISE54 – Various studies have shown lack of access to capital to be a major factor militating against entrepreneurs and growing startups. Aspiring entrepreneurs with bright ideas have been incapacitated by the resulting credit-crunch, and this has contributed to Nigeria’s increasing unemployment rate and low economic activity.

Enterprises and their entrepreneurs are to the economy what the cell is to the body. Furthermore, data available from the federal office of statistics show that these (Micro Small and Medium Scale Enterprises) MSME provide a large percentage of jobs and its inherent multiplier effect than even more that the public service itself. So assisting such a critical sector in the area of funding cannot be ignored or left to their fate.

It is in light of these developments that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in December 2005, introduced a Microfinance Policy Framework to help micro-entrepreneurs and low income households gain increased reach to financial services for business expansion and modernization of operations. The rationale was that no inclusive growth can be achieved without improving the access of this economic strata to factors of production, especially financial services.

Microfinance banks provide quick access to funds for entrepreneurs without collateral. The Nigerian government through her Central Bank, set policies, guidelines and gave out licenses for the establishment of Microfinance Banks.

According to the MD/CEO of Accion Microfinance Bank (AMfB), Ms. Bunmi Lawson, at a press briefing in Lagos, “some entrepreneurs are ignorant of the facilities being offered by the microfinance banks”.

Click on link to continue reading http://enterprise54.com/how-to-access-loans-without-collateral/
Business / “hype Aside, Irokotv Is Not Successful” – Jason Njoku by enterprise54: 6:02pm On Sep 11, 2014

ENTERPRISE54 – I was talking to some young founders yesterday night. It was 8.40pm and I was just about to leave the office. They asked me how was iROKOtv? I began explaining that things are not easy. This big switch is creating all kinds of pain internally. Dramatic things usually do. They looked at each other and laughed. That things are not as bad for me as it was for them.

I smiled and replied. No one is killing it in Nigeria*

Hype aside. iROKOtv is NOT successful. Yet. Small internet companies and the larger funded ones are all experiencing the same problems, just on different scales.

Click link to continue http://enterprise54.com/hype-aside-irokotv-is-not-successful/
Business / Top 10 Affordable Nigerian Vacation Spots For Entrepreneurs – Jovago.com by enterprise54: 5:08pm On Sep 11, 2014

ENTERPRISE54 – The life of entrepreneurs, especially startup founders, is characterised by overwhelming workload, stimulant-dependence for extra energy, endless work hours, sleepless nights, and suffering relationships. In the entrepreneurs shoes, finding the time for lifesaving practices like exercise and holidaying seems more like an indulgence rather than a necessity. There seems to be an unwritten rule that being an entrepreneur means sacrificing everything life’s got to offer solely for business success.

Unfortunately, dear entrepreneur, health, not profits, is wealth.

Healthy relationships, biological and psychological health reduce stress levels and enhance mental concentration needed for efficient performance and, most importantly, unlocking innate creative abilities. Vacations are an awesome way to achieve this. Sometimes, you just need to get away from the hectic everyday life, and who says you have to leave the country or break the bank to do it? Jovago.com, a leading African Hotel Booking Portal, has put together a list of 10 affordable places you could visit with loved ones to unwind and rejuvenate.

1. Obudu Mountain Resort


Click link to read full story http://enterprise54.com/top-10-affordable-nigerian-vacation-spots-for-entrepreneurs-jovago/
Business / She Leads Africa To Showcase The Continent’s Most Promising Women Entrepreneurs by enterprise54: 4:15pm On Sep 11, 2014

ENTERPRISE54 - She Leads Africa, a platform that introduces the continent’s most promising female entrepreneurs to investors, accelerators, and mentors looking to invest in the next generation of African talent’s, will on September 20, 2014, at Terra Kulture in Victoria Island, Lagos, hold its inaugural Entrepreneur Showcase.

Ten amazing female entrepreneurs with their corresponding enterprise selected from almost 400 applicants across 27 countries will pitch in front of a panel of notable business personalities for the grand prize of $10, 000 and US$5,000 to the winner and runner-up, respectively, as well as non-financial prizes such as phones and tablets, brand consultation, free office space, access to prominent venture capitalists and angel investors, and additional tools needed in order to expand their existing start-ups and achieve their business dreams.

The finalists are as follows:

Winifred Selby
Afrocentric Bamboo Limited – Kumasi, Ghana
Afrocentric Bamboo Limited designs, develops, and markets bamboo bikes and frames and related products and services.

Click link to read more http://enterprise54.com/she-leads-africa-to-showcase-the-continents-most-promising-women-entrepreneurs/
Business / ‘fresh Graduate’ With No Job Experience? by enterprise54: 3:50pm On Sep 11, 2014

ENTERPRISE54 – Nigerian based recruitment and Human Resource startup PushCV, is offering fresh and unemployed graduates an opportunity to start and develop their career. The organization is doing this through a one month internship program at their office in Yaba, Lagos.

PushCV is an organization with a reputation for helping their clients get good jobs, and also provides them with unlimited resources and Value-added services that helps them to excel. They require people with drive and enthusiasm who are ready to roll up their sleeves and get involved in the day-to-day work of a dynamic, growing company.

Click link to read more http://enterprise54.com/fresh-graduate-with-no-job-experience-pushcv-is-here-to-help-you-kick-start-your-career/

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Business / 3 African Women Entrepreneurs Facebook To Growing A Mushroom Agribusiness by enterprise54: 3:38pm On Sep 11, 2014

ENTERPRISE54 – Looking back at the hours spent swapping stories on Facebook five years ago, 26-year-old Almaz Tegene had no idea that her new online friend, Selome Mekonnen, would end up being her business partner.

Almaz, Selome and Asratemariam Sileshi are three young women, who find themselves part of a new breed of Ethiopian entrepreneurs who are being supported through an Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) launched by Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn in February 2013.

The EDP has since attracted the support of development partners such as Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD) which provided USD 5.8million to the programme in April 2014.

“Canada is proud to help create jobs by promoting the growth of small businesses in Ethiopia, especially businesses owned by women,” said Christian Paradis, Canadian Minister of International Development and La Francophonie at the time of the announcement of the partnership between Canada and UNDP on entrepreneurship.

Over four thousand Ethiopians have gone through an entrepreneurship training workshop since the Entrepreneurship Development Centre (EDC) was set up following the launch of the EDP in 2013.

Both Selome and Almaz have gone through the intensive entrepreneurship training workshop and subsequent Business Advisory Service (BAS) support provided by the EDC.

While exploring business ideas five months’ ago, the group of friends finally settled on Selome’s long time passion for including mushrooms into her every meal. The number of people requesting Selome to buy them some when she next goes shopping for mushroom ignited an idea of starting an in-door mushroom production business.

THE MUSHROOMS ARE GROWN ON A BED OF WOODEN CRATES IN THE BACKROOMS OF A CONDOMINIUM IN ADDIS ABABA

Click the link to read more http://enterprise54.com/3-african-women-entrepreneurs-move-from-facebook-chats-to-growing-a-mushroom-agribusiness/
Business / Apple’s Watch: What’s In It For Africa? by enterprise54: 3:30pm On Sep 10, 2014

ENTERPRISE54 – After so much media frenzy and feverish anticipation, Apple, during the late hours of Tuesday, finally announced its latest product, the Apple Watch (interestingly not iWatch), alongside the iPhone 6 and 6 plus. It came as a bit of a shocker as the media-savvy company kept a tight-lip about unveiling the product until yesterday and taking the global tech industry by surprise.

This time around, Timothy D. Cook, not Steve P. Jobs, was the man on the show.
The smartwatch announcement makes the first major product announcement Apple has had since its 2010 iPad launch. Apple is late into this growing wearable technology category though, as Samsung, Sony and Pebble already dominate but chief executive Tim Cook says

“For us, it’s never been about being first. It’s been about being the best.”

The Apple Watch, a product of the marriage of fashion accessory and technology, is basically a digital watch that syncs with current iPhone models, comes with health and fitness monitoring apps and has a music player, calendar and map; from my observation, it’s more of lifestyle, less of productivity.

Unfortunately, the American iPhone maker’s products are usually made without Africa in mind. On the other hand, its arch enemy, and another smartwatch maker, Samsung, has studied, parleyed and dominates the African market. Probably another instructive evidence of Asia’s stronger friendliness with Africa, necessitating President Obama’s hosting of 200 African business leaders to heal economic ties.



Click the link to read more http://enterprise54.com/apples-watch-whats-in-it-for-africa/
Business / Nigerian Entrepreneurs Soon To Use Cars, Jewelry, Shares, Others For Bank Loans by enterprise54: 6:03pm On Sep 08, 2014

ENTERPRISE54 – World Bank development finance unit International Finance Corporation (IFC) has disclosed plans to help Nigerian Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) access loans using common moveable collateral like laptops, generators instead of parcels of land, buildings and other hard-to-own fixed assets.

A significant number of MSMEs have not been able to secure credit for growth and expansion due to the heavy collateral demand imposed by banks and other financial lenders. Overbearing interest rates and unreachable collateral demands have accounted for over 80 percent of credit gap in the MSME sector thereby crippling its growth.

According to a BusinessDay report, Nigeria’s N200 billion SMEs Credit Guarantee Scheme (SMECGS) which was established to encourage banks to lend to productive sectors of the economy achieved less than 20 percent utilisation, thereby defeating its purpose.

IFC’s innovative approach to launch a collateral registry in December, lets MSMEs present readily available securities like jewelry, shares and stocks, vehicles etc, as alternative collateral in exchange for loans.

Click the link to read more http://enterprise54.com/nigerian-entrepreneurs-soon-to-use-cars-jewelry-shares-others-for-bank-loans/
Business / Nigeria Kicks Off Disbursement Of $1.3bn Fund To Entrepreneurs by enterprise54: 1:52pm On Sep 05, 2014
August 19, 2014
President Goodluck Jonathan will begin the disbursement of the N220 billion ($1.3 billion) Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) development fund to eligible entrepreneurs.

The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, made this known Monday in Abuja at the 8th annual Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Financing Conference and Entrepreneurship Award.

Emefiele said that the president would perform the ceremony at Sheraton Hotel, Abuja, venue of the two-day conference with “MSME financing in Nigeria: Past, Present and Future” as theme.

He said that the theme was conceptualized to look at MSME finance sub-sector from a holistic perspective.

According to him, since the economy has been driven by growth in the non-oil sector, there is the need to provide affordable and efficient finance services for MSMEs.

“In the last seven years, our economy expanded by seven per cent and in the first quarter of 2014, the real Gross Domestic Product grew by 6.2 per cent, mainly driven by an 8.2 per cent growth in the non oil sector.

Click the link to read more
http://enterprise54.com/nigeria-kicks-off-disbursement-of-1-3bn-fund-to-entrepreneurs/

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